Live Each Day
by BearfootTruck
Summary: One-shot. One day, an ordinary hedgehog with no superpowers gets home after a normal day at work. Then, a mysterious intruder shows up...
1. A Nice Little World

It was an ordinary day in the city of Smithfield, a big city in the Federal Republic of Columbia. At the offices of CorpCorp, Gray the Hedgehog was doing…whatever it is that one does at a typical office. Gray resembled a more famous hedgehog, except that he was a flat gray (duh) color and wore plain black shoes. He also possessed no special abilities whatsoever.

At the end of the workday, Gray stopped by the payroll office for a slice of well-earned bread.

"Here you go," said Alan Smith, a human who worked as the payroll clerk.

"Thanks!" said Gray.

"Have a good day."

"You too! Bye!"

Gray went to the parking garage to get his car, a powder-white 2012 Nissan Versa. Traffic was pretty heavy on the way home, but he got back home at a reasonable hour.

* * *

Gray the Hedgehog lived in the suburbs just outside of Smithfield. It was a typical Columbian suburb, with green grass, rows of houses, pristine sidewalks & streets, plus any other features typical to a typical place such as this. Now, to be more exact, Gray lived in a single-story, two-bedroom (not counting the guest room) house with white vinyl siding. Keeping him company were his loving wife Gris (pronounced 'gree') the Hedgehog and his two children, Davy & Puce.

When Gray opened the door, he said, "Honey, I'm back!" It was but three seconds that Gris came to him with open arms.

"Welcome home, darling!" said Gris, who gave her husband a warm hug & kiss. A few seconds later, Davy & Puce came running over to their father.

"Daddy! Daddy!" exclaimed the two hedgehog pups. Davy was almost a spitting image of his father, while Puce had a hint of pink in her quills like Gris, though she was lighter in color.

Anyways, Gray put down his briefcase and knelt down to hug his kids.

"Hey hey, it's good to see you two again!" said Gray.

"By the way, dinner's ready!" said Gris. Everyone headed to the dinner table. Tonight, Gris had cooked some shrimp casserole, plus rice & mashed potatoes on the side. Gray also poured himself a glass of milk. While seated, the family had a nice little talk.

"So, how was your day, darling?" asked Gris.

"Oh…not bad." replied Gray.

"That's nice."

"What about your day?" Gray took another bite of his casserole.

"It was quite nice," said Gris. "Lydia Wildstar came over to visit, so we talked for about an hour or so while the kids were at school."

"Lydia Wildstar, eh? What did you two talk about?"

"Oh, we just talked about how we were doing and how our families were doing. She's been pretty lonely ever since her husband took off on this new job."

"So, Derek got a new job?"

"Yes, he's in that Space Force now…"  
"I think you mean Star Force, honey."

"Oh yes, that…"

"Hey Daddy…" Davy interrupted.

"Not now, Davy," said Gray. Turning to Gris, he said, "Derek works for the Star Force? Interesting."

"Maybe so," said Gris, "but Lydia's really worried. She hopes that he'll come back one day."

"Well, I heard that a number of Derek's ancestors were also in the Star Force, so I think he should be able to handle himself."

"Really?" Gris took another bite of casserole.

"Sure! He'll be fine!"  
"I guess you're right, Gray."

"Daddy, can we talk now? Please?" asked Puce.

"OK, you two can have your turn!" replied Gray. "Davy, you go first."

"Awwwww!" exclaimed Puce.

"Don't worry, Puce, you'll get to go first tomorrow night!" Turning to Davy, Gray asked, "How was your day, son?"

"It was awesome!" replied Davy. "I got a 100 on my math test!"

"Oh, good going, sport!" Gray & Davy gave each other a high-five, while Gris looked on & smiled. Davy had already showed her the test, but she enjoyed seeing her husband bond with his son this way.

"Wanna see?" asked Davy.

"Let's wait until after dinner, OK?"  
"Okay…"

Next, Gray turned to Puce and asked how her day was.

"It was great!" replied Puce. "I learned some interesting stuff in Geography today!"  
"Really? Please, tell me more; I'm all ears!"

"OK! Did you know that the Roseinian Empire has a region covered by a frog?"

"I think you mean fog, Puce. That is interesting, though!"


	2. Like It's His Last

After the family of hedgehogs finished eating dinner, they sat down to watch some TV. Their television was a high-tech UTOLED-3D (Ultra-Thin Organic Light Emitting Diode with 3D capability) set. They usually watched family-friendly programming such as _Arthur_ or _Doug_, but since the kids had been good today, Gray & Gris let them watch an episode of _Dragnet_ plus an episode of _Adam-12_…not that either show is an ultra-gorefest, mind you.

Once TV time was over, everyone got ready for bed, first the kids, and then the parents. When Gray finished drying up after his hot shower, he brushed his teeth, flossed and finished up with a splash of mouthwash.

However, when he finished his dental hygiene, he got a surprise when he turned around.

"Hi there." Standing before Gray was a black hedgehog with red stripes, blood red eyes & white chest hair. He wore a matching set of white/red/black shoes & gloves, plus golden bracelets. Though this hedgehog was a few inches shorter than Gray, Gray was still intimidated by his presence.

"Who are you!?" demanded Gray.

"I'm the world's Ultimate Life Form," replied the other hedgehog.

"W-what!? Honey! HONEY!" Despite the cry for help, the other hedgehog stood still. Within moments, Gris opened the bathroom door.

"Gray, what's…" Gris froze when she saw the other hedgehog. "Oh my…I'm calling the police!"

"Don't bother," said the other hedgehog. "I've temporarily disconnected your pitiful little landline. Even if you use a cell phone, the police couldn't catch me in time, nor would they have much of a reason to arrest me."

"W-what are you talking about?" asked Gray. "Honey…" Gris had already slipped away to call the police.

"You'll find out exactly what I'm talking about."

"P-p-please…don't hurt me!"

"I'm not gonna hurt you. I just came here to talk."

"What? Who are you…and what is this all about!?"

"I told you, I'm the Ultimate Life Form."

"N-no, y-your name…"

"My name is Shadow. Of course, it's unimportant to you."

Davy & Puce had been woken up by this whole conversation and were now standing at the doorway to the bathroom.

"Daddy…what's going on here?" asked Puce. Shadow briefly glanced over to the two hedgehog pups.

"Kids, go back to sleep!" said Gray.

"But daddy…"

"Everything's fine! Please, go!" The pups went back to bed.

"Now then, Mr…?" said Shadow.

"G-G-G-Gray! M…my name's Gray!"

"Right, Gray…I see you've got a nice little world you call your own…"

"Please…just tell me what's going on!"

"…a job, a girl, a home sweet home…"

"W-what do you want!? Tell me what you want!"

Shadow got somewhat frustrated and lost his cool.

"Calm down," he said, "I said I wouldn't hurt you! Hmph!" Shadow got his cool back. "Now, if you're willing to stop panicking, I want to ask you a few questions…"

"Yes…?" queried Gray.

"First, do you really think you have all your problems paid for?"

"What…?"

"Have you even thought about the next World War?"

"Shadow, why are you asking me these questions?"

"I have a story to tell you. You see, I was born artificially. That means I didn't have the luxury of being cradled in the arms of a loving mother. The closest I ever had was a little girl – a human, about the same age as your daughter. Her name was Maria, and she and I were _very_ good friends. Then, one day, _they_ took her away from me."

"They…?"

"G.U.N."

"The…the Guardian Units of Nations? No…you must…no! Why would they take away an innocent little girl?" Gray seemed to have a hint of fear in his voice.

"If you thought they were an honorable, clean-cut organization, you're sorely mistaken. Maria meant the world to me, and now she's gone! If that wasn't enough, G.U.N. took away 50 years of my life for a crime I didn't even commit! To make matters worse, their attempts to capture me indirectly caused me to suffer from memory loss. However, I was fortunate enough to find out who I was, and this is who you see here before you."

Gray was rendered speechless for a few moments. Then, he finally spoke up:

"Th-th…that's awful! Shadow, I…I feel so sorry for you!"

"Hmph, don't feel sorry for me," said Shadow. "You could never fully understand the pain I went through. Instead, you should feel sorry for yourself, you ignorant peon."

"What!?"

"That's right. See, before she died, I made a promise to Maria: To defend the people of this planet at any cost. Recently, however, I had begun to question whether it was worth it, and do you want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because of ignorant peons like you. Look at yourself: You were able to live a relatively normal childhood. You graduated from school. You obtained a good job, and now you have more than just the basic amenities needed to survive. You have everything I never had! But you don't have an ounce of gratefulness in your pathetic body! You never really had any, did you!? That's what's wrong with people like you! Now, I have just one demand for you…"

"*Gulp*…what's that?"

"Simple: Live each day like it's your last. One day, you're gonna lose it all in a nuclear blast…or worse…"

"No…what could possibly be worse!?"

"Gray, there are a lot of things that go on in this world and on other worlds…a lot of things that you NEVER want to see. I implore you, heed my words! Make my time worthwhile! And if you get the opportunity, spare a thought for Maria, please?"

"I…I will!"

"Do it. I must go now, so whatever you do, _don't_ forget about what I told you! Most people are so ungrateful to be alive, but we can change this. Good night, Gray." Shadow exited through the bathroom window and went on into the night, but not before reconnecting the phone line.

Once again, Gray merely stood there, astounded by what came to pass. A few moments later, Gris returned.

"Gray…are you okay?" asked Gris.

Gray looked at his wife. Slowly, his look of astonishment changed to a look of happiness. Then, suddenly…

"Yes honey, I'm alive!" Gray went over and gave Gris a big hug.

"Darling…what are you doing!?"

"I'm sorry…it's just…you have no idea how happy I am right now!" exclaimed Gray. "I'm so glad to have you, the kids, the house…everything!"

"Wha…you…you've never said this before!"  
"Who cares!? The world shines for us! We should be happy to have all this, right!?"

"Y-yes…of course…" Gris slowly put her arms around Gray and returned his embrace.

* * *

Just then, a radio unit pulled up outside the hedgehogs' house, lights flashing. However, nobody took notice until the police officer knocked at the door. The two adult hedgehogs stopped hugging and answered the door.

"Gray & Gris the Hedgehog?" asked the officer, a female human.

"Yes, that's us," replied Gris.

"We received word that somebody broke into your house. Is everything OK?"

"Everything's fine!" said Gray, still beaming with happiness. "It was nothing…just a false alarm! Still, I'm grateful to know that you're here for us! Thank you so very, very much!"

"Yes, you're welcome. Have a good night, you two."

"Good night, officer! Bye!" Gray waved at the officer as she returned to her black-and-white.

* * *

Before going to bed, Gris asked Gray another question:

"Gray, what was that guy doing here?"

"To be honest…I'm actually not too sure," replied Gray. "However, it seemed like he was concerned about us."

"Concerned? He tried to stop us from calling the police!"

"Honey, if he had tried to stop us from calling the police, wouldn't he have followed you and snatched your cell phone?"

"No, but he seemed so…so…"

"What?"

"I don't know, but it seemed like there was something wrong with him!"

"Don't worry, Gris, everything's fine! We'll talk about him tomorrow! In the meantime…good night! I love you 'till the end of time!"

"I love you too, Gray!" The two hedgehogs gave each other a loving kiss before going to bed.

* * *

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the two hedgehogs, another person had broken in: A white bat. She carefully crept around the living room, looking for something…


	3. Sonic Says

One day, Jet the Hawk & Storm the Albatross were taking a walk through the neighborhood when Storm pointed out something:

"Hey boss, look! Nobody's home!"

"All right!" exclaimed Jet, who pulled out a wrench. "Let's break in & steal their valuables!"

Just before the two Babylon Rogues could break in, though, Sonic the Hedgehog stopped them.

"Hold it!" ordered Sonic. "Breakin' into people's houses is a really bad idea! Not only are ya breakin' the law, but you're also breakin' people's trust! A lot of people expect their pads to be safe, wherever they go! Do us all a favor: Don't break into anybody's house! If ya gotta visit someone and there's nobody home, be solid; leave 'em a note or a phone message!"


End file.
